Baby Blue Eyes
by chaoticAgent
Summary: Your name is Eridan Ampora and you don't have a prom date. But maybe, just maybe, it's not too late to save the night. Promstuck Karkat/Eridan fluff.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Homestuck.**

**This probably sucks, but I had to get it out of my system. OOCness, super fluff, some angst, excessive swearing (Karkat) and excessive stuttering (Eridan). You have been warned.**

* * *

It was dark out, and the night was actually pretty chilly in comparison to the balmy day they'd had. The parking lot was full of cars, but it was otherwise very empty except for the young man sitting on the curb and staring into a murky puddle. It was a starless, sort of foggy sky and a hint of gasoline hung in the air. The sound of traffic was off in the distance along with the yowling of a stray cat and the savage barking of a supposedly pursuing canine. It was completely and utterly unromantic.

The muffled music drifting from the gymnasium did absolutely nothing to help the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. In fact, he simply felt the lump in his throat grow tighter as the threat of tears leaking from his eyes worsened.

Fuck prom.

Eridan Ampora sniffled pathetically as each moment of the dance ticked by, further shattering the already mangled mess in his chest that was called his heart. Maybe he was being overdramatic, but he gave even less of a shit right then about what people thought of his theatrics than he usually did. He was too upset to care about anything except for how unfortunate he was. Because nobody, not a single fucking person, had asked him to the prom.

Early on, he'd grudgingly accepted the fact that his crush probably wasn't going to ask him. ("The idiot just doesn't realize how amazin' I am!") Later on, he'd reluctantly admitted that he probably wasn't going to get asked by anybody stunningly attractive or cool. It wasn't until the other night that he'd realized with horror that he probably wasn't even going to be asked as a friend. That he probably wasn't even going to be asked... period. But he had still hoped. He'd always had hope.

And look where that got him.

He didn't even know why he was here. He thinks maybe he'd convinced himself that he didn't need a date to have fun, that who knows? Perhaps someone would ask him to dance during a slow song and they'd hit it off and... and...

That. Stupid. Fucking. Hope.

He was just starting to try to get the will to get up and make his way home where he could get out of this stupid tux and crawl into bed and curl into the fetal position and cry himself to sleep when suddenly, he heard a door open followed by a frustrated sigh that he would recognize anywhere.

"What exactly do you think you're doing out here by yourself, fuckass?"

Eridan froze, then winced as he refused to look over his shoulder at his fellow teen. "I'd really appreciate bein' left alone at this particular time, Kar. I don't feel like dealin' w-with your shit right now-w," he snapped, trying to sound as annoyed by the other boy's presence as possible. Unfortunately, this rarely worked with Karkat Vantas.

He could practically hear Karkat grimace.

"Fuck you, Ampora. I'll do what I damn well please." There was a strange sort of anger in Karkat's voice that he couldn't exactly define, but it almost made him look at Karkat in puzzlement. He didn't, though.

"An' w-what ya please right now-w is to antagonize me or some shit, is that it?" There was a short beat of silence. It was very brief, but Eridan noticed it. For some reason, he found himself holding his breath.

"...Would you just-" Karkat's voice cracked with ire and he paused, assumedly to regain his composure, then continued. "-shut the fuck up, dumbass? I mean, oh my God."

So Eridan shut the fuck up.

However, this didn't seem to please Karkat at all. Actually, he was pretty sure he'd heard Karkat mutter a few choice curses at him when he said nothing in response. Talk about not saying what you mean. After what felt like an hour of quiet, but was probably only a minute, he heard Karkat shuffle around and sit down next to him.

"I fucking hate this."

Eridan, having no idea what Karkat was grumbling about, finally took a glance and instantly regretted it. Karkat was in a suit, tugging at his tie in discomfort, and he couldn't have looked more gorgeous if the dickhead tried. But that was it. Karkat never tried. Karkat never had to.

"...Do ya need help loosenin' it?"

Karkat blinked, looked over at Eridan with an odd expression, then nodded slowly and scooted a bit closer to him. Eridan leaned in only for a couple of seconds, his slender fingers quickly managing to loosen the knot in the tie. As he pulled away, he thinks his knuckle brushed against Karkat's neck and Karkat might have shivered. But that was probably just the breeze.

"Thanks."

"W-Welcome."

The exchange was curt and the thick tension in the air was painful. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They shouldn't be acting like this with each other. They were friends... weren't they? The tinge of doubt in his thoughts made him feel nauseous.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" He stared at Karkat in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing out here by yourself?" He frowned, turning his head away as his stomach clenched.

"W-What does it matter to you?"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because suddenly Karkat looked livid enough to hit him. "Hey." Karkat's voice had darkened. "Don't you fucking dare assume shit about what matters to me just because you're in a pissy mood, okay? I wouldn't have come out here and asked if it didn't fucking matter to me, alright?"

He was stunned, at a loss for words to say. So he settled for simply nodding, turning his gaze towards his lap in something akin to shame. He could feel Karkat silently fuming next to him, but gradually Karkat seemed to calm down.

"Seriously, Ampora, why are you moping out here?" He took a shaky breath, trying to decide if he should talk to Karkat about it. Almost immediately, though, he knew the answer. That no matter what, in the end he'd vent to Karkat about his problem like usual. Because Karkat always listened.

"It's just that... ev-veryone has a date for this stupid fuckin' prom but me. Nobody ev-ven bothered to inv-vite me to come w-with them as a friend. Hell, w-what w-was the point in comin'? All I did for an hour w-was stand around, makin' a fool a' myself w-while I w-was w-waitin' to see if I'd get asked to dance." The words tumbled from his mouth, his voice choked and miserable. Karkat looked unusually conflicted.

"Why didn't you just fucking ask someone yourself?" Karkat asked, in a way as if the grumpy boy was scrambling for a reason to blame him for his unhappiness. His jaw tightened, his knuckles turning white as his fingers clung to his pants. The truth was pushing up his throat in the form of bile and Karkat was getting impatient.

"Dammit, Ampora-"

"'Cause I'm tired a' bein' the person to make all a' the fuckin' effort, okay? I'm tired a' bein' thought a' as pathetic an' a attention whore w-whenever I try to make a fuckin' connection w-with anyone. I'm tired a' chasin' tail an' comin' off as fuckin' desperate. I'm tired a' gettin' rejected an' lookin' like a fuckin' tool. I'm just fuckin' tired. So I decided to let somebody else ask me, but look at how-w badly that backfired?"

"Eridan..." And now he understood what that strange sort of anger in Karkat's voice had been. It hadn't been anger at all. It had been concern carefully disguised as anger. However, now the disguise had fallen away and all that was left was the concern. It was written across Karkat's features, and it was in the way that Karkat's shoulders slumped.

"Just go inside, Kar. I'm sure you'v-ve got someone w-waitin' for ya." He couldn't keep the hint of bitterness out of his voice, or the hurt.

"...Not really. I came with Gamzee and Tavros as a fucking third wheel." He turned to look at Karkat so fast that he almost got whiplash.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

He didn't understand. Why didn't Karkat have a date? People liked Karkat. He was ornery and irritable and he was the butt of a fair share of jokes, but he still had plenty of friends. For him to come here as a third wheel? It just... didn't make sense.

"Was there anyone in particular that you wanted to ask you?" His eyebrows furrowed. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that Karkat almost sounded sort of shy.

"A' course." For some reason, this seemed to make Karkat look... disappointed? "W-What about you, Kar?" Why was he asking? He didn't want to know. The answer would probably only make him feel worse. He guessed that it was simply the first thing he'd thought of to turn the conversation away from him. Because for once, he really didn't want to talk about himself.

Wait, did Karkat just flinch?

"I... Fuck. I should've just fucking asked. I should have, but I was a fucking coward. I fucking pussied out because even though I'm always giving dating advice like I'm the fucking king of romance, the truth is that I don't know shit."

"Kar...? W-What are ya talkin' about?"

"Nothing. Just." Suddenly, Karkat sprang to his feet. Eridan, fearing that Karkat was going to leave him like this, felt like his chest was about to cave in. Then, a hand was tentatively being outstretched towards him. "You've been fucking raving about this prom for over a year and you look cold and bored and as depressed as if someone just shot your puppy. But, I mean, if you want, we could-" Karkat cut his rambling short, his cheeks becoming slightly flushed.

"W-We could w-what, Kar?"

"Dance." The word was forced out, Karkat looking stiff and awkward as he stood there. Clearly, this was hard for him.

"Kar, ya don't hav-ve to-"

"I want to. I just can't dance for shit, so you better not fucking complain when I'm tripping over your little hipster feet."

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, slowly, they were both cracking smiles and even chuckling. Then they faintly heard the thrum of the music change and Karkat looked at Eridan meaningfully. He swallowed nervously, then reached up to take Karkat's hand.

_"Baby, baby blue eyes, stay with me by my side_

_'Til the morning through the night_

_Well baby, stand here holding my sides_

_Close your baby blue eyes, every moment feels right_

_And I may feel like a fool_

_But I'm the only one dancing with you"_

Karkat pulled him into a standing position, then carelessly tugged him closer. Feeling his heart pound ridiculously as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Karkat's neck, he felt his stomach do a flip as Karkat's hands timidly rested on his waist. They avoided it for a couple of moments, but then their eyes met.

And they were dancing.

_"She wears heels and she always falls_

_I let her think she's a know it all_

_But whatever she does wrong, it seems so right_

_My eyes don't believe her but my heart swears by her"_

It was mostly just a simple swaying back and forth motion, and Karkat actually was kind of clumsy (in an endearing way), but it was perfect. Halfway through the song, he found himself resting his head on Karkat's shoulder and feeling the racing beat of the other boy's heart against his chest. He wondered, idly, if Karkat felt his too. He took in Karkat's scent; musky and the vague mint of toothpaste. All of this was lulling him into a dreamy daze, and he hardly noticed as the music reached an end.

_"My eyes are no good, blind without her_

_The way she moves, I never doubt her_

_When she talks she somehow creeps into my dreams"_

And then it was over and suddenly... he was sobbing almost hysterically like a bitch. His shoulders shook violently and he covered his face with his hands, feeling terribly idiotic.

Because none of this was real.

"Oh my God, why the fuck are you crying?" Karkat's voice sounded mortified and he imagined that, if not for the tears blurring his vision, Karkat's face would match.

"'Cause you're only doin' this to be nice. This... it w-was just a fuckin' pity dance." Karkat had the wide eyes of someone who'd gotten caught redhanded, and he could tell that Karkat was trying to think of a good explanation. And Karkat was-

...And Karkat was laughing his ass off. What the hell?

"Is this a fuckin' joke to you, Kar?" Eridan snapped, attempting to recoil from Karkat in indignation. But Karkat held fast to his hands, abruptly turning serious with the realization that his feelings had been unintentionally trampled.

"Fuck, calm down. I'm not laughing at you. Well, I am, but not about what you're thinking. I just. Holy shit, how clueless can you get?" Karkat sounded incredulous, shaking his head in disgusted disbelief. Eridan had no idea what Karkat was talking about, but he was only feeling more insulted.

"W-What the fuck is your problem, Kar? I mean- Mmph!"

In the middle of his sentence, Karkat had looked thoroughly fed up with him and impulsively lunged forward. And now Karkat's lips were pressed to his. And he was paralyzed; even forgetting how to breathe. Unfortunately, Karkat seemed to mistake his startled reaction as one of repulsion and swiftly pulled away with a look of extreme embarrassment. He just gaped.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have- I'll just. Go and die in my personal corner of humiliation now."

But as Karkat turned around to flee, he caught Karkat's sleeve and firmly held the other boy in place. "W-Wait!" Karkat cringed, then tensed, looking as if wanting desperately to shrivel up and disappear. "...W-Why did ya kiss me?" His tone was stressed, urgent.

Initially, Karkat seemed to assume that he was mocking the other boy. "Why did I kiss you? You fucking smartass, son of a-" Karkat promptly cut himself off, however, when it seemed to dawn on him that it was a serious question. Deep in Eridan's baby blue eyes, there was a tiny spark of that pesky hope.

"...Because I fucking like you, you stupid shit," Karkat confessed exasperatedly, looking exhausted and torn. But Eridan felt his heart burst with relief and float right out of his chest. When he beamed, Karkat gazed at him in suspicion.

"What the hell are you smirking about, Ampora?"

"I just nev-ver thought you'd feel the same w-way, Kar, that's all."

Realization flickered in Karkat's eyes, then uncertainty. "Are you fucking with me?" Karkat's expression was a mix of dreadfully heartbreakingly cautious and absurdly adorably hopeful.

He shook his head.

Then Karkat's fingers were curling into the front of his tux, pulling him forwards and crushing their mouths together. The other kiss had been chaste, but this was more needy and passionate. Karkat's lips were rough and chapped, moving eagerly against his softer and smoother ones. He moaned, returning the enthusiasm full force as he rewrapped his arms around Karkat's neck. Karkat's fingers wove into his hair, their slightly sloppy kissing lacking any sort of rhythm.

When they separated, breathless, they were mirthful as they continued to hold onto each other. For what seemed like a long time, they stayed like that. Silent, but comforted by the presence of the other as they kept eye contact.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Karkat's gruff voice cut through the fairytale moment like a knife and he found himself chortling. Karkat scowled at him.

"Fucking what?"

"Nothin'. It's just... you." His voice was teasing, but laced with affection as he looked at Karkat fondly. Karkat rolled his brown eyes in an attempt to seem miffed, but the faint blush gave him away. And then Karkat's stomach growled and Eridan was doubled over with laughter.

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Karkat tried to snap at Eridan, but his lips quirked into a faint smile despite his slight embarrassment.

"Sounds like w-we should go get a pizza or somethin'," Eridan suggested cheerfully, reaching for Karkat's hand and gesturing towards his car.

"What about the dance?" Karkat asked, hesitating before slipping his hand into Eridan's with an almost discreet nonchalance. Eridan shrugged.

"Eh, fuck it. Pizza Hut calls."

Karkat grinned with a surprising amount of willingness. "You are seriously my favorite fucking person right now."

Maybe prom wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

**The song was Baby Blue Eyes by A Rocket to the Moon. I was listening to it and just thought it was cute, so I used it. /shruuuug**


End file.
